


SD Gundam Force: The Unicorn Chronicles

by MWSeraph



Series: SD Gundam Force - The Unicorn Chronicles [1]
Category: SD Gundam Force
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26454118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MWSeraph/pseuds/MWSeraph
Summary: Ten years since the defeat of Dark Axis, Neotopia and the rest of the dimensions are at peace. However, a new threat of darkness rises up to destroy the Gundam Force, which has recovered an unknown artifact of great power. In the wings, an amnesiac white robot with a single horn is about to discover his destiny as the dimensions barrel towards war once more.
Series: SD Gundam Force - The Unicorn Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923010
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

** Somewhere Outside of Neotopia, Eight Years After Dark Axis' Defeat... **

Birds chirped and fluttered as the sun beat down on the grassy plains just outside the city. A small stream burbled close by, a gentle rushing sound echoing alongside the birds. One of them banked and flew down, arcing around before alighting atop a single white metallic object. The bird chirped and tapped it with its beak. There was initially no response from the object, a white metallic humanoid figure.

The bird hopped around before fluttering down and landing on the figure's chest, tapping with its beak, as if looking for a spot to build a nest. However, upon tapping the figure's chest, there were flickers of light in its visor. The bird chirped and flew off, leaving the figure behind as it stirred. A metallic hand twitched its digits slightly.

As the white figure stirred, his vision began to focus as systems came online. The first thing the figure realized was that it - no, _he_ \- was lying on his back. Slowly, he made to push himself into a sitting position.

"Ugh..." the robot groaned as he shook his helmeted head. "Where... where am I?" His hand probed his helm, rubbing it. Confusion flooded his processor as he slowly removed his hand from his head, looking at the grey digits and palm. "And for that matter, who am I? _What_ am I?"

He then noticed the clear, blue river flowing next to him. Curious, he rolled onto his knees, crawling over. He leaned in, and he fell silent as he stared at the unknown face staring back at him. Pure white metal made up much of his face and frame, with only a green visor allowing him to see. His shoulder pads were angular, and his frame seemed kind of lean, but strong in a sense. He leaned in a bit more, and his hand roved up to the protrusion on his forehead - what could only be described as a horn.

"Whoa..." he was befuddled at his appearance. He could not place a finger on it, but something felt off about him. It was then that he noticed some of the markings on his armor, with a particularly significant insignia on his right shoulder that resembled a horse with wings and a horn on its head. His hand reached over, and he lightly touched it. "What is this marking?" he wondered. "What does it mean?"

He struggled to get to his feet, only to discover his balance was off. He yelped and tripped over his own two feet, landing face-first in the stream. "Ow," the amnesiac robot grunted as he lifted himself from the stream. He staggered to his feet, this time being extra careful. He managed to make his way out of the water, shaking his head.

It was then that he realized something... did he have a name? He looked himself over, trying to find something that could give him a clue to his identity. It was then that his eyes rested on something on his chest. A questioning hum came from him as he looked closer.

It was not much, and it looked scratched up by something. But part of it was visible, if covered in dirt.

"Uni..." he attempted to read, but the rest of it was scratched off. It was then that he noticed as his vision focused on the reflection in the stream; he had scratches all over him. Just what had happened to put him in such a state? Had he been attacked?

"What's with the scratches, who am I, where am I? There's so many questions I have," he muttered. All he knew was that he needed answers. Uni - that was what he decided to call himself until he could remember his true name if he had one - decided to follow the stream. Maybe he would find some help there. He then looked up in the distance...

"Is... What is that place?" Uni wondered as he stared at the buildings in the distance. It was an idyllic-looking city, with twin towers rising into the sky. For some reason, he felt calm just by looking at it. Uni felt like he could stand staring at it all day. There were even airships floating about.

"Wow..." Uni whispered. "I've got to see all this!"

With that, Uni set off into town, his first step into finding his lot in life.

_**A new saga begins...** _


	2. Chapter 1

** Ten Years After Dark Axis’ Defeat… **

** Neotopia Nuclear Power Plant... **

"Look out!" A GM Worker yelled as he and his coworkers, human and GM alike, fled the scene of pandemonium. There was gunfire as the assailants shot at the fleeing workers, particularly at the GM Workers.

"Destroy all robots," the terrorist leader yelled as he fired his pistol into the air, "victory to Earth and all her workers and defenders!" A few scrambled behind some overturned vehicles, and a few terrorists hurled some Molotov cocktails at the vehicles. One worker took the flames to her leg and she collapsed, crying out in agony.

"For the preservation of our Blue and Pure World!" Another gunman cheered as he covered his comrades stealing power cells from one of the warehouses.

A few other human workers hauled their fellow GM companions to safety, and one of them even hugged a human tightly, as if to say goodbye or something else. During this time, though, there happened to be some help on the way, even if they did not know it.

The terror leader smirked arrogantly at the carnage he was inflicting on these infidels in his eyes. "No robots can coexist with humans!" he grinned. He then looked at the detonator in his hand. Once his men took all the nuclear power cells they needed to wage war against this modern world of robots and their masters, he would detonate the charges throughout the plant and on the remaining cells to plunge the city into a black out. The city of the future would be left with no power and the plant in irradiated ruins.

The man turned to the others. "C'mon! Move it!" he barked. Just as one of the trucks was starting to move, there was a sudden loud voice.

" _Oh, by your pact with this Winged Knight! MANA ENCIRCLEMENT!_ " the voice bellowed. The man's eyes widened as he suddenly noticed a large blue disk appear in the sky, a wave of energy surging downwards and trapping him and his men within a barrier. The terrorists looked up to see a winged robot with a flowing cape, sword, and shield, looking like some sort of medieval knight.

The mech held his sword out, glowing with ancient runes as he scowled at them. "You dare to intrude on this fair place?" he said. "You have no right to disrupt the livelihoods of these workers, least of all this fair city!"

"What in blazes is that robot!?" One gunman shouted.

"Tis I, Zero, the Winged Knight of Lacroa!" the robot declared, brandishing his sword. "Member of the Gundam Force!"

"Oh, crud! The Gundam Force?!" another terrorist blurted.

"We're screwed..." "Not yet," the terrorist leader grunted. He then yelled, "take him out!"

Those terrorists outside the barrier began to bring their heavy ordinance to bear. Several of them armed with rocket launchers aimed their firepower at Zero and let loose a salvo of rockets. The Winged Knight's eyes hardened as he saw this. "So, you wish to play dirty?" he snarled.

However, that was when the machine guns started to chatter. Zero, thinking quickly, brought his shield to bear to shield himself from the bullets.

"Go back to wherever you crawled from, space freak," the leader taunted as the Mana field went down.

Zero's eyes narrowed. "So be it!" he muttered. He raised his sword up as the rockets drew closer. " _Lacroan Crescent!_ " With that declaration, he cast his signature spell, unleashing a brilliant blue shockwave towards the projectiles.

The rockets exploded, but the flashes provided time for the terrorists to get their vehicles moving. "Let's blow this joint," one of the gunmen on a motorcycle cheered.

"Advance guard," the leader radioed, "clear a route for our exit." He fully expected his men at one of the gates to have a path cleared for them. The men gathered what they had snatched and piled into the jeeps.

The jeeps then raced to the escape point, but the leader was shocked to see someone else there at the gate, with his advance guard on the ground or having their hands in the air, being held at gunpoint by several green-colored military-style robots. It was then that a Gundam stepped forward.

The red and white armored Gundam had his twin swords drawn, and his brown eyes glared as he faced them down. "You fiends will not get away from us!" he growled. Beside him, his horse, Entango, whinnied in agreement. "I, Bakunetsumaru, hereby stand against you brigands!"

Beside Bakunetsumaru, a winged Gundam armed with missiles on his wings hovered down. "Yeah. He's not the only one!" the younger Gundam, Guneagle remarked, his green eyes glinting mischievously.

It was then that a certain Gundam with wing binders, rifle, and shield stepped forward in his iconic blue, white, and red colors and Gundam Force regalia. The two Gundams heard his footsteps and whirled around. The blue eyes flicked over the situation and his golden V-fin gleamed in the light as he approached.

"Captain!" Baku said. Sure enough, before them was their superior officer and old friend, Captain Gundam, leader of the Gundam Force.

"Members of Blue Cosmos," Captain Gundam boomed with authority. "As Leader of the Gundam Force, I demand that you drop your weapons and surrender! You are surrounded!"

The terrorists looked at one another, nervously. This was the Gundam who had trounced Commander Sazabi and helped defeat General Zeong. It stood to reason they stood no chance.

However, the Blue Cosmos team leader seemed more incensed than scared. "So... you finally showed up," he growled. "FIRE!"

The jeep gunners opened up on Captain Gundam with their heavy machine guns.

The Gundam did not flinch as he held up his shield and stood his ground. The rounds impacted against the thick Gundamium plated shield.

The Blue Cosmos radical then took a look at his detonator. He knew that he was no match for Hyper Captain Gundam in a direct fight, but if he could blow the plant, it would still be a blow to Neotopia and the country at large. However, someone was one step ahead on that one. Guneagle's eyes glinted and he smirked. "I don't think so~!" he sang. He held up a device in his left hand. "This little baby jams all signals that are not communications related for any remote device."

The Blue Cosmos leader clicked on the clapper, but as Guneagle suggested, nothing happened.

"Good work, Guneagle," Captain Gundam said. He then radioed, "Zero, how are things on your end?"

"Things are proceeding as we have planned, Captain," Zero responded over their comms. "I've disarmed all the explosives and I'm seeing to the injured.

The Gundam Force leader nodded. "Excellent."

"Curse you Gundam Force," the Blue Cosmos leader growled, "kill them!"

The gunners opened fire on the three Gundams blocking their path. "MOVE!" Baku shouted. Guneagle took flight as fast as he could. Captain held up his shield and weathered the assault while Bakunetsumaru put his agility and swordsmanship to good use. "Hyah!" Bakunetsumaru swung his swords rapidly. The quick reflexes of the Musha Gundam allowed him to deflect the bullets in different directions, away from the human terrorists they currently had at gunpoint.

Captain Gundam then activated his targeting systems. "Targets locked on..." He targeted the gun trucks and heavy weapons. Captain Gundam then fired his beam assault rifle and missiles. The beams struck one of the jeeps, causing it to explode into shrapnel, tossing the human occupants out. Some sustained severe wounds, and two were left unmoving.

"Die Gundam!" Another Blue Cosmos member aimed a grenade launcher at the Captain. The Gundam fired his head Vulcans at it, detonating it in midair. He then rushed up to the grenadier and crushed the launcher, knocking down the terrorist. The man fell back, terrified.

Captain Gundam then flew through the rest of the other Blue Cosmos members, knocking them down and blowing their weapons aside. He then rushed up towards the Blue Cosmos leader and aimed his rifle in his face. "You are under arrest," he repeated.

The Blue Cosmos leader was shocked at Captain's speed. Then he remembered something. "I thought you stupid robots are not supposed to harm humans," he retorted.

"You would be correct," Captain stated. "But..." A few seconds passed before the terror leader heard the click of handcuffs. He looked down, surprised. "As a robot functioning as an officer of the law, I am authorized to use force to neutralize your threats," Captain answered, "consider yourself lucky to be arrested." The man growled.

It was then that the regular police arrived to secure the site, along with fire and paramedics. "Good work, Captain," one of the officers replied. "We'll take it from here."

"Thank you, officer," the Captain saluted as he handed over the Blue Cosmos team leader. The officer returned it and the Blue Cosmos member were ushered away. Those who had been hit by the explosion of the jeep were taken to hospital to assess their injuries.

Captain surveyed the aftermath, just as Zero, Baku, and Guneagle came to his side. "Our mission was a success," Zero remarked as he dismissed his shield and sword back into its ether storage.

"How are the plant workers?" Captain asked.

"They are safe," Zero replied. "Some are injured, but nothing time and repairs can't fix." Zero then looked a bit sad. "The security guards... they did not make it." Captain looked down, somberly.

"Blue Cosmos," Bakunetsumaru spat out the name, "cowardly murderers."

Zero nodded. "Tis a sad truth, my friends."

Guneagle clenched his fists. "They're nothing but scum!"

It was then that a squadron of three Gunperrys swooped in and landed. The lead one was a special white one. The Gundam Force turned. "The chief's here," Guneagle remarked. "Probably to inform us if there's more BC terrorist activity."

"We must wait and see," Zero told the aerial Gundam.

The white Gunperry opened to reveal Chief Haro and Juli. The two officers of the Super Dimensional Guard made their way over to the Gundams as they assembled in a neat line.

"Chief Haro, sir," Captain Gundam greeted.

"At ease, Gundam Force," Chief Haro said. The Gundams saluted before lowering their arms. "The mission went well, I assume?"

"We captured more members of Blue Cosmos and halted their theft of the nuclear power cells," Zero reported, "the plant has only suffered minor damage, and most of the plant workers are safe. However... four of the security guards, two humans and two robots were murdered."

Chief Haro's fist clenched. "That is regrettable. But the majority have been saved, so we can call this mission a success."

Chief Haro then looked up towards the sky, where their aerial HQ was. "Gundam Force, return to base."

"Yes sir!" Captain Gundam acknowledged.

The Gundams filed onto the Gunperry closest to them. Once on board, the aircraft lifted off the ground, flying back to their base.

** Neotopia Airport... **

_"This morning's attack on the Neotopia Nuclear Power Station by the radical anti-robot group Blue Cosmos represents an escalation in the terror organization's willingness to use violent methods to oppose the integration of sentient robots and society at large..."_

The radio blared as a metallic hand reached out to grab a nearby wrench. The figure underneath the plane's right engine grunted, as an arm extended a bit further pure white armor stained with oil. "C'mon...!" a male voice, albeit with a metallic edge, muttered. "Hah!" The hand curled around the wrench and the form pulled it under.

_"The city of Neotopia has issued a statement condemning this latest attack, calling it quote: 'an affront to the peace and freedoms of all citizens, human and robot alike', end quote. Terrorist attacks by Blue Cosmos have arisen in the five years after the Sentient Intelligence Rights Act was passed by Congress, with many urging the government of the Western Federation to enact more anti-terror countermeasures."_

The mech grunted as he finally pushed back, emerging from underneath the engine, wrench held in hand. "Blue Cosmos again? Darn it..."

_"The plot to destroy the plant and steal the power cells stored at the plant was ultimately foiled thanks to the efforts of the Gundam Force, whose response was praised by Mayor Margaret Gathermoon as 'swift and decisive'. All members of Blue Cosmos responsible for the attack are reported to have been neutralized, with several of them currently awaiting trial on charges of murder and terrorism with deadly weapons, among others."_

"Well, glad for the Gundam Force!" the mech chirped as he sat up, grabbing a rag and wiping down his white armor. He had a deep respect for the group, having read up on their exploits and adventures. And Uni was very eager to meet them in person one day.

"Hey Uni!" A human young man came up to the white GM-like robot with the horn. The mech looked over. "Oh! Ray!" Uni chirped. "How's it going?"

"Just fine!" Ray beamed.

"Good." Uni finished wiping the oil off his white armor. "Ya hear about that latest attack by Blue Cosmos?"

Ray’s expression fell as he glanced sideways. “Yeah,” he said, “sounded pretty bad over there. Feel sorry for all those plant workers.”

Uni sighed, "they just get worse by the day."

Ray walked over and put a hand on his friend. "They just don't know what they're missing out on," he said reassuringly. "Not all robots are bad. It's just those that choose to act bad that are the issue."

"Yeah... but two robots and two humans just died by their hands... oh," Uni felt himself heating up, "just hearing them destroy and kill just makes me mad!"

"Hey, calm down. They'll get what's coming to them," Ray assured him.

"Still, if only I could help the Gundam Force! I don't know why, but every time I hear of them in action, I just have this urge to help them mash things up!" Uni waved his fists, unwittingly hitting his tool cart. Ray recoiled from the sudden noise, and he looked down. "Uh...Uni? You uh... messed up your tools again..." he muttered, looking at the trashed cart.

"Ah!" Uni panicked as he rushed to pick up his tools and mend the cart back into shape. "How embarrassing!"

The human knelt to help with picking up the tools. "Hey, can't blame ya, my friend. You got some serious strength."

Some of the other GM workers and human workers either shook their heads or laughed at Uni's mess. "White Horn's done it again." The white mech blushed furiously as he and Ray gathered up his tools.

One of the GM Workers was far less amused. "Not again, Uni. You're too strong for your own good. How many things have you wrecked already?"

"Hey! I can't help it!" Uni whined.

"Leave him alone guys," Ray defended his friend.

The GM worker made a motion indicative of rolling one's eyes with his helm. "If he keeps wrecking things, there will have to be measures taken," he said.

Uni was totally embarrassed as he gathered up his tools, having to watch his strength with them as well.

Ray sighed as he helped his friend place the tools back on his cart. "Well, at least nothing was shattered like last month," he noted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah..." Uni shook his head. He still could not help but feel the jeers and stares of the other GM Workers. He was apparently supposed to be some sort of GM, but his unusual white horned appearance and unusual strength made him the butt of jokes and ridicule. Then again, there was so much about himself that he didn't know, or remember. All he knew was his name and gender, and that was it. He shifted a bit as he finished putting his tools back on the cart.

"C'mon," Ray said. "I think there's another plane that could use some repairs to the landing gear."

"Take care not to break it, Uni-Wrecker," another human teased to everyone else's laughing.

The white mech buried his face in his hands with a whine. "Why me...?"

Ray glared at them as the two moved off to work. "Sheesh. You're really the butt of many jokes around here," he muttered. In truth, Ray himself was a bit of a victim of jokes as well.

"That makes two of us peas in a lonely pod, eh?" Uni groaned as they both walked.

The man nodded. "Yeah. But hey. We stick together, right?" he smiled as he blew some of his blonde hair out of his green eyes.

"Buddies to the end, I suppose," Uni said as he started to cheer up.

Ray chuckled. "You know it, Uni. Besides, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you may have a great future ahead of you one day." He smiled. "I mean, you're a good mech, despite that strength of yours." He paused, and then grinned. "Maybe one day you could put that strength to use in rescuing people!" he joked. "Like in firefighting!"

"Firefighting?" Uni laughed, "I think I'd like to wrestle some Dark Axis remnants in a ring!"

The two cracked up. "Maybe!" Ray joked. "Who knows?" He sighed. "I'm serious, though, Uni. You've got a good heart under that armor."

"Thank you," Uni laughed, "you're the best."

Ray grinned. "Hey, what are friends for?" The two finally reached the aircraft with the damaged landing gear and they started to get to work.

** Gundam Force HQ, Blanc Base II **

A loud swear came over the speakers of the training room, only for someone else to smack the speaker upside the head. "Stop your swearing!" the second speaker said in a somewhat deep voice.

"Hey! I can't help it if my aim is lousy!" the first speaker groaned in a youthful voice.

"You won't improve with that sort of attitude," the second speaker, a Gundam with deep blue, red, and white colors, along with a large backpack with aircraft wings on his back, chastised, "and screaming vulgarities won't do it either."

The younger Gundam, one clad in silver, blue, and gold paint, groaned. "Yes, sir..." he muttered.

"Learn to control your temper, Dash," the older Gundam, Alpha Zeta counseled, "you'll do yourself and your friends better when you focus."

Dash Duel grunted as he nodded. "Yes, sir."

Off to the side, a tan, green, and orange armored Gundam smirked, his green eyes glinting. "So keep that temper of yours under control, Dash," he teased, his voice resonating powerfully over the training room.

"Tell yourself that," Dash shot back at his friend, Brave Buster, "you're the one who can't stop wasting your ammunition."

Brave rolled his green eyes. "At least I'm accurate."

Alpha Zeta stared at the two newcomers. 'These two definitely need more work,' he thought.

"Those two at it again?" That voice belonged to another young Gundam with various shades of crimson. He had a large central sensor antenna, with beam sabers on his hips and a large flight pack on his back.

Alpha nodded as he looked to the other mech. "Yes, just the usual, Red Saber."

Red Saber shook his helmeted head with an amused grin at the squabbling duo. As one of the more senior members of the Gundam Force, short of Alpha Zeta and Captain Gundam, he was responsible for the group of so-called 'Seed' Gundams that represented the next generation for the defense of Earth. In truth, he had no idea as to why they were called Seed Gundams, but that was of little importance.

"I can remember when I used to be so brash and young," Red laughed, thinking on his time with the Gundam Force.

"You're only almost one and a half years to my eight with this outfit," Alpha retorted, "you Seed Gundams still have much to learn from the rest of us."

Red rolled his blue optics. "Sure," he muttered. Red then stepped up towards Brave and Dash. "Break it up you two," he broke in, "Chief Haro wants us in Briefing Room One now."

The two Gundams looked at one another, then nodded, although Dash did glare at Brave briefly.

"Sure thing, Red," Brave gave a thumbs up. The trio filed out of the room, followed closely by Alpha Zeta.

** In another part of the base…  **

A pink colored blur smashed headfirst into a training dummy, sending it sprawling. The female Gundam grunted as she stood up, brushing off her armor.

Beside her, a mostly white mech with blue, black, and red accents on his frame watched warily. "Uh, Rouge? Do you always have to be so rough?" he asked in a shy tone. Rouge rolled her golden optics. "Hey! I can handle myself, Flight."

Flight, a winged Gundam sporting numerous cannons, just sighed. "You know what happened the last time you trashed the gym," he reminded, "Gunbike may like it, but Chief Haro was beside himself."

Rouge scoffed but relented. "Fine..." She turned and walked over to the nearby training bags and started punching, although with noticeably less force than she usually did. Flight hated to admit it, but he was a bit scared of Rouge and how rough she could be. He knew she despised her armor color, but to be so rough? He wished she would tone it down a bit. The other Gundam in the room, who was the same model as Rouge but in blue, red, and white, seemed more amused by his sister's tomboyish behavior.

Silver Striker was just like her in build, but without the pink. "You know, sometimes I think people mistake her for being dainty," he joked.

Flight winced a bit. "Sure..." he muttered.

Rouge just smirked. "Hey. I have to prove I'm not dainty somehow~!" she sang. She then looked down at her own colors with disdain. "I'm fine with the red, but pink? Come on, that hardly comes off as combat-worthy!"

Flight could not help but slap his forehead with a hand. "For the love of... You do realize that we have Phase Shift Armor that has color programming," Flight told Rouge, "why not just reformat the colors instead of just complaining about it!?"

"Like I could!" Rouge grumped. "I don't even know how!"

"You could just ask," the brother of the two Strikers said.

Rouge just huffed. "Whatever..." She turned back to the punching bag and resumed her training. It was then that the door opened to reveal another Gundam, this one being similarly styled to Captain, but bearing hip booster binders and foldable rocket launchers on his back. "How's it going," the newcomer Gundam asked.

"Just the usual, Stamen" Silver Striker shrugged, "Big Bro's being a worrywart and Sis is her sassy and charming self."

Stamen grinned. "The Pink Menace still roaming, huh?" he teased, looking at Rouge who shot him a glare.

"I told you not to call me that!" Rouge shouted in an unfeminine tone. The group burst out laughing at the remark. Flight had to admit that his younger sister looked cute when she was riled up.

"Okay, let's settle down!" a familiar voice said. A golden winged Gundam with aerodynamic fighter-like features made his presence known.

"Delta Shiki," Flight recognized one of the more experienced members of the Gundam Force. The group - Rouge included - saluted as one.

"Chief Haro and Captain Gundam are calling for all Gundams to assemble in Briefing Room One," Delta Shiki informed. The three Gundams scrambled out of the room, barely avoiding Delta.

"Always to the point, aren't you Shiki?" Stamen gave a smirk. Delta rolled his blue optics as he followed Stamen out of the room.

** Briefing Room One  **

Captain Gundam and Chief Haro watched as Gundams old and new filed in. The room was large enough to accommodate them all, thankfully, as the Gundam force had grown significantly over the years.

"Ten years of hard work," Chief Haro muttered to Captain.

"Yes. Work that has paid off," the Gundam Force leader remarked.

"And these are just our Neotopia members here," the helmeted chief said, "and we have you and Shute to thank for it."

Captain gave a crisp salute. "Shute and I have been through many battles and life the past ten years, sir," Captain said in a low tone back, "my assessment is that he will make for a great successor as Chief of the Gundam Force."

Chief Haro gave a subtle nod. "Good." Shute was well in his final semester of senior year in Neotopia Military Institute, and upon turning 21 and graduating, he was a potential candidate for the position of Chief Haro. The young man had come a long way since the final battle against Zeong all those years ago.

The current Chief Haro, Mark, thought of when he revealed himself to his son at the age of 18...

**_ Flashback… _ **

_"Dad!? You mean this whole time you were Chief Haro?!" Shute blurted in shock to his dad._

_"Hit it on the nail, Son," Mark winked, having removed his helmet, his long hair making a stark contrast from his prim and proper military uniform. Never did Shute once suspect that his easy-going musician of his dad could be the disciplined and commanding military leader that Chief Haro was._

_"But why did you keep it a secret from us?" Shute wondered._

_"As you remember, Shute, the Gundam Force did not officially exist," Mark explained, "as a matter of fact, the names of all the other members, including humans, are in fact our codenames and never our real ones. It's standard procedure to this day to protect ourselves and loved ones from potential reprisal by the Gundam Force's enemies."_

_Shute paused, looking down. "Oh. So that's why..." he murmured._

_"You were not originally supposed to meet Captain that night," Mark went on, "but I never chose to reveal myself to you as to limit the fallout of potentially compromising the Gundam Force's secrets and putting your mom and Nana in harm’s way. If Dark Axis knew who I was, they would have come after our entire family, and everyone else we love."_

_The young man looked down. His dad was serious, he realized._

_"But... why now? I doubt you're doing this simply for personal reasons," Shute's more adult mind began to deduce._

_Here Mark nodded. "Sooner or later, the time will come for me to retire," he explained. "And for that to happen... I need to find a successor."_

_"And..." Shute then realized, "no way."_

_Mark grinned. "You got it, son."_

_Shute just fell back in his seat. "Wow..." was all he could say._

_"Of course, there is a selection process, but your record of achievements with Captain have made you a strong candidate."_

_Shute looked up. "Oh? Who else is on the list?" he asked._

_Mark, Chief Haro simply put his hands together. "That's confidential."_

_The young man sighed. "Okay. Guess I can't pry then." He smiled, trying to make a joke._

_"You couldn't, even with a beam saber," the leader of the Gundam Force joked back. The two cracked up laughing at that._

** Present **

"All members of the Neotopia Branch are present, Chief," Juli informed with a salute.

Coming out of his reverie, Chief Haro nodded. "Excellent. We can begin the meeting." Captain Gundam stood to the side of Chief Haro, along with Zero and Bakunetsumaru as all the Gundams of the Neotopia branch finished filing in.

"First on our agenda," Haro turned back to the original trio of Gundams, "good work today, Captain. Thanks to your efforts, we were able to prevent the destruction of the power plant and neutralize the Blue Cosmos members responsible."

Captain nodded. "Thank you, sir!" he replied.

It was then that Chief Haro pressed on his remote, bringing up more images of previous Blue Cosmos attacks, some foiled, others successful. Many of them were disturbingly recent acts of terror from around the Western Federation and the rest of the world. "As you know, Blue Cosmos has started to ramp up their attacks on robot citizens around the Federation and across the world. Our forces are, despite recent increases in numbers, are being stretched thin as it is," he continued.

It was then that the images shifted to that of the victims, along with charts showing the rise in casualties. The images were rather gruesome, as even humans were not spared of the carnage. This caused consternation and grumblings among the less steely members and Gundams.

Flight grimaced and he looked like he was turning green in the faceplate. "Oh man...!" he whispered, one hand going to his lower torso. "I think I'm gonna be sick...!"

Rouge narrowed her green eyes. "Ba-" She was cut off by Red as he slapped her upside the head. "Language!" he scolded. Rouge grunted, relenting to Red's glare.

Zero was among those most visibly disturbed, while Baku simmered at the depravity of this phenomenon known as terrorism on Earth. "Those fiends...!" he snarled.

"You'd think that Dark Axis would be responsible for such attacks..." Zero muttered, floored at how violent humans could be in expressing such hatred.

"I understand your concern, Zero," Chief Haro stated. "But even humans can resort to such brutality at times." His voice was somber as he looked at the assembled Gundams.

"The latest attack on the Neotopia Nuclear Power Plant unfortunately, represents a very serious escalation to which Blue Cosmos is willing to carry its anti-robot and anti-technology radicalism to." Chief Haro then shook his head, "and our latest casualty tally from the attack just went up significantly from what Zero first reported..." He then brought up more images sent from the police investigators.

The Gundams all stared in shock and horror. The image was of a destroyed control room.

"The heck happened there?" Rouge whispered. A soft snort caught her attention and she looked to her left, only to stare at the culprit: a black, grey, and red Gundam with his face planted right on the table.

Red hissed at the sleeping Gundam, "Blitzer!"

The sleeping mech lifted his head. "Whu...?"

"Pay attention," Flight muttered in annoyance.

The black mech perked up, then shook his helm to drive the vestiges of sleep from his processor. "Sorry..." he mumbled. "Didn't have a good recharge last night..."

A red clad female Gundam with blue eyes giggled a bit. "Shield," Red chastised his little sister.

It was then that Haro saw the Seed Gundams' little shenanighans. "You have something to contribute, Red Saber?" Haro called out.

Red jolted in his seat, then turned to face the chief. "Nothing, Chief," he quickly defended.

The chief was silent but nodded. "This footage was sent to us by some of the police investigators not too long ago." Haro then glanced over to Flight. “For the more squeamish though, be advised of disturbing content in the footage.”

Flight covered his optics with his hands. The screen shifted to show the Blue Cosmos gunmen bursting in and gunning down the control room staff.

Aegis grimaced. "Nasty!" she muttered.

"This video, and the bodies of the victims in the control room," Haro said girmly, "brings the death toll up to twenty-one."

"Twenty-one..." Red's optics narrowed. "Any idea on when they'll strike next?" he asked.

"That is above your paygrade, Red Saber," Alpha Zeta said.

Red scoffed. "And it's not for you?" he retorted.

Delta grasped both Gundams by their shoulders and gazed at both. "Enough. We have other things to worry about," he stated.

"Delta is correct," Alpha Zeta said as the chief closed the screen. "Our next priority is the anniversary coming up."

"Correct," Chief Haro said with a nod, "I was about to get to that." The Gundams all sat around, leaning in, some of them kind of excitedly. "As many of you know, tomorrow is the ten-year anniversary of the Gundam Force's victory in the war against Dark Axis." The Gundams all let out cheers before Alpha cleared his vocalizer. They settled down at that, but a few, like Striker and Rouge, quivered with excitement. "Even with the increase in Blue Cosmos activity, Mayor Gathermoon and the President of the Western Federation have given us the go-ahead to proceed with the victory parades as planned."

Rouge grinned. "Aw, yes!" She pumped her fist and Aegis giggled in response.

Blitzer, on the other hand, blanched. "P-Parades?" he squeaked.

Dash Duel huffed. "Entertaining kiddies? Gimme a break."

"Those kiddies could one day be valuable members of the team, Dash," Alpha gave Dash a reminder, “you’re still quite the kiddie yourself.”

"I like kids," Brave chimed.

Rouge snickered behind her hands.

Captain Gundam smiled from behind his mask.

Dash gave a glare to Alpha and rolled his optics. “Sure, whatever,” the swordsman groaned.

Chief Haro continued, "however, as a precaution, we will nonetheless be raising the alertness levels of all teams not participating in the parade and ceremonies."

  
"Yes, sir!" the assembled Gundams said. It was then that Captain stepped up. "The teams will be assigned to the roles as follows," he said, bringing up a list of the Gundams assembled.

"First up is my team. Me, Bakunetsumaru, Zero, and Guneagle will be partaking in the ceremony commemorating the anniversary." Captain highlighted his team and their role.

"Next up is the long-range team, consisting of Flight, Brave, Alpha, and Delta." The four Gundams' names lit up. "They will be in charge of monitoring the ceremonies and events for any potential terrorist activity."

"Leave it to us, Captain," Alpha Zeta stood up and saluted. The other three nodded as they saluted.

"Next up we have the perimeter security," the Gundam Force leader explained. "That will be covered by Dash, Aegis, Strike, and Rouge. You four will be under GunPanzer's command."

"Yes, sir!" the foursome replied. However, Dash was not too thrilled about serving under GunPanzer. He wisely kept his vocalizer muted though.

"Blitzer will be acting as additional support, given his stealth abilities," Captain said. He looked to the black and grey Gundam, who was close to nodding off again. As soon as he felt Captain's eyes on him, he perked up and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"You will be working with our Gunchopper squadrons in patrolling the airspace above the ceremony,” Captain Gundam told Blitzer, “you will use your laser designator to point out suspicious items and persons based on data regarding Dark Axis remnants and Blue Cosmos."

“You can count on me,” Blitzer affirmed.

With the teams assembled, Captain closed the list. "Our main objective is to make sure this anniversary goes off without any trouble," he said.

"The Mayor of Neotopia and the Federation President will be presiding over the celebrations," Chief Haro informed, "along with the Princess of Lacroa and Shoguns Britainmaru and Kibaomaru of Ark. I expect all of you to be on your best behavior." He eyed Dash, Rouge, and Aegis especially.

"Semper defendere, Chief," Delta Shiki affirmed.

“Good,” Chief Haro was pleased, “let’s make this anniversary safe for everyone, but let’s not forget to celebrate and commemorate our victory for future generations to remember. Do your jobs, but smile and have fun as well. Dismissed.”

“Yes, Chief,” the whole room saluted. The Gundams and the other staff then rose and began to file out.  
  
Captain, Zero, and Bakunetsumaru remained around a little longer with Chief Haro. Chief Haro faced the three. “Is there something you three would like to add?”

"For some reason, I'm getting a bad feeling from this," Bakunetsumaru stated softly. "I cannot explain the evil I've been sensing..."

"I'm not too certain about this either," Zero confided, “I feel a disturbance with my mana, and the ceremony feels like it’s too easy of a target.

"It reminds me all too much of the evil of Zeong..." Baku admitted.

Captain was befuddled by his friends' words. "Zeong was destroyed," Captain pointed out, “remember, Baku?”

"That may be true, but this evil presence is similar, but at the same time, different," the Musha Gundam remarked. He then faced Chief Haro. “"I can only say that this evil is like Zeong, but possesses differences that make it stand out as its own entity.”

Chief Haro wanted to believe Bakunetsumaru, but he was not one to make decisions on a mere whim. "I see." He looked down, a hand coming up to the bottom of his helmeted head in thought. "I could put in a word with the National Guard to be safe..."

"The more support, the better," Zero concurred, “better to be safe than to be sorry.”

Chief Haro then straightened his stance. "Anyways, I want both you and Bakunetsumaru to be on your best for the ceremony, Zero. We want to project as much confidence as much as our competence in the field. People from around the world and your homelands will be watching the ceremony, so let's project that confidence."

"Yes, sir,” the top knight of Lacroa and the number one samurai of Ark affirmed.

"You can count on us, Chief," Captain added, “the Gundam Force always stands at the ready.”

Zero gave a nod. "Yes. We shall do our best."

"Always ready," Baku pumped his fists.

The chief nodded. "Then I wish you all the best of luck." The three Gundams then left. Chief Haro went another direction with Juli. "Relay my wishes to the local governor and the President for some National Guard assistance."

Juli nodded. "Yes, sir." As Juli left to relay the request, Chief Haro thought about his family and their plans for tonight.

'Keiko could use a serenade or two; it's the least I can do to make up for not being home lately...'

With that, he proceeded to exit the base as well.

**Chapter 1 End**


	3. Chapter 2

** A dark corner of the Minov Sea... **

The Minov Sea... a vastly beautiful, yet mysterious phenomenon of space connecting worlds entire galaxies apart. First known to the Gundam Force ten years ago, the Minov Sea has since become a passageway to bypass the vast distances of normal space.

However, lying within... were the dark parts of the dimensional sea. These cold and dim parts of the Minov Sea were perfect places to hide for the various enemies of the Gundam Force over the years. And right now, deep within its shadows, shards of glass shimmering with dark power drifted unseen and unnoticed...

Except by one.

A massive robot, overflowing with dark energy, used his tendrils of darkness to collect these shards. The shape was huge. Only darkness shrouded his form, except for two glowing green optics that pulsed with pure malice. No voice was heard. But the intent was clear. He was not about to let the greatest commander ever go.

Especially now.

The shards came together... and pulsed ever so strongly. The huge mecha rumbled approvingly, but there was one more thing he sought. However, he needed to get this commander’s loyalty first.

The shards then coalesced into their true form... a Dark Soul Drive.

The darkened form sneered, his green optics flashing. A dark voice resonated deeply in the Minov Sea. "Yes... Awaken... Commander Sazabi of Dark Axis."

Slowly, more darkness began to form, slowly seething and solidifying. Where it solidified, it began to fade, revealing battered, but intact crimson armor... elegant golden decals... a sweeping pair of wings... a broad chest and shoulders... and a single red optic as it flared online. "Ugh... what... where am I?" Commander Sazabi groaned.

"You, Commander, have been reborn..." a deep voice rumbled in his processor.

"Reborn?" The confused former second in command of the former Dark Axis vocalized. He then looked around. "This is not Neotopia!"

"Of course not. You were defeated, if you remember it." The voice seemed to take on a tinge of mirth.

Sazabi then paid more attention to the dark giant, pointing a finger. "Who are you? What are you!?"

"I am... your savior. My name is Grand Darkness. And I am willing to make you an offer."

"Offer?" Sazabi scoffed, "what offer?"

"I can give you the power to defeat the Gundam Force," the voice purred.

"And all you have to do... is pledge your loyalty to me."

"Loyalty?" Sazabi gave a glare to the shadow he could make out as a Gundam, "I pledge no loyalty to any Gundam, let alone submission!"

The huge mech's optics pulsed and the next thing Sazabi knew, there was sheer agony throughout his systems and frame. "I am your savior, but I can also be your destroyer if that is what you wish," Grand Darkness warned as his energy tendrils wrapped around Sazabi.

The red mech screamed in agony. "Okay! Okay! I yield!" Normally, Commander Sazabi was a proud and haughty warrior, but his weakened and confused state left him vulnerable to whatever this entity was capable of.

The mech pulled the tendrils away. "Good."

"I... I pledge my loyalty to you, Grand Darkness, for giving me a second chance in life to defeat the Gundam Force..." Sazabi bowed.

Grand Darkness purred as he slowly extended more tendrils, this time pulling with them some more remains…

"Very well, I shall grant you a new body, and new troops to command."

Sazabi stared in awe and a bit of horror as those remains drew closer to him... "G-General Zeong's armor!?"

The huge mech didn't answer. Sazabi could not help but be in awe as the mighty armor hovered around him, and then began to attach itself to his frame.

"What does this mean-agh!" Sazabi had no idea that this would be painful. He had to struggle to keep his mind focused and clear. It was then that he felt his frame and armor shift.

He slowly glanced down, and was surprised to see his fusion commencing. His armor seemed to bulk up, and he grew in height from eight feet to an imposing ten feet. As he grew, his armor then slimmed out into a more athletic shape, and his wing binders took on a more refined lool with the rest of his armor, which showed more ornate patterns. The pain finally subsided, and he looked down, surprised at the sheer power he now felt.

Commander Sazabi... or whoever he was now, had grown in stature and power. As if to reflect his reborn nature, his body had taken on a sleeker bright red appearance, with ornate chest plates and sleeves worthy of combat royalty. His helmet had also become more curved, and the wing binders a more bird-like appearance.

"This..." He slowly flexed his hands before turning to face Grand Darkness' imposing silhouette. "I thank you..." he murmured.

"Arise... for your new name shall be Master Sinanju," the huge figure said.

Master Sinanju flashed his new green optical eye as he arose to full height, showing his newly reborn and decorated armor. "Yes. I will do my best, Grand Darkness," he said.

Grand Darkness seemingly gave no acknowledgement, but then raised his shadowy arm to summon something else from a portal.

The portal shimmered, and within mere seconds, a horde of Zako soldiers, most of them covered in some rust and dented armor, emerged, looking around with terrified optics. "Behold... Your new forces, Master Sinanju." Slowly, darkness spread over the terrified Zakos. And they began to change... The armor and frames of the renegade Zako soldiers began to take on new forms.

Master Sinanju felt a bit giddy as he saw how different these new mechs were. Some were taller, others more heavily built. Furthermore, there seemed to be a much more serious and menacing aura to these new troops. His optic flashed as he eyed them. They seemed more competent, and he wanted them to prove it.

"These, my new servant, are your new forces," Grand Darkness intoned.

Sinanju took interest in the new troops. "State your designations."

"Guillotine Gelgoog." The commander showed off his heat saber. "I will behead any who strive to defeat us!"

"Maverick GINN." He brandished a pair of beam sabers. "Nothin' gets past my optic!"

The next mech bowed elegantly. "I am Krake Zulu. And despite my gentlemanly manners, I am a very dangerous adversary," he said, his voice sounding rather cultured for a Dark Axis warrior.

The last commander, a silvery robot, stepped up and showed off his beam claws. "Name's Razor GuAIZ. Nothing gets away from me." There was a polite, yet eerily hollow tone to his voice.

The newly revived commander smirked in his optic towards Razor GuAIZ. "I think you will prove to be very competent," he purred. Master Sinanju then turned back to his new dark master. "My army and I are at your service, O Grand Darkness."

"Very good..." Grand Darkness purred as his optics flashed...

** Gundam Force Nevada Desert Base... **

Flight soared with his angel-like wings and thrusters through the skies, with his two younger siblings, Striker and Rouge just behind him. Red also flew alongside him as they went towards the Gundam Force base in Nevada. The foursome had just been called in to examine something unusual that had crashed just outside the facility.

"Remind me why we are being sent out here for some babysitting job," Rouge groaned to Red.

"Something crashed just outside the base's sensor perimeter," Red explained. "They need us to see if we can figure out what it is exactly."

"I thought this was their job," Striker remarked.

"It may be, but the latest readings have this unknown object giving off unusual amounts of radiation. They don't know what kind it is, so they're requesting our assistance," the red Gundam replied. He then turned to his winged friend, Flight.

"We're not taking any chances, Flight," Red reminded, "we're insurance should it come down to a combat scenario."

Flight visibly shuddered. "R-Right..." he squeaked. Rouge and Striker grinned to themselves.

The foursome continued a bit longer before the base started to come into view on their radar.

"There it is," Striker chimed.

Rouge studied it, noting the smoke column further off. "Got the smoke in sight," she reported.

"That's not good," Flight tensed up as the four Seed Gundams touched down next to a squad of SWAT Jegans and human soldiers.

"Red Saber. Glad to see you made it," one of the GMs, a femme by the sound of her voice, responded.

"Sounds like it," Red Saber said as he saw the smoking impact crater, "Wood and Lyn, where are they?"

"They'll be coming within a few minutes," the femme replied. Her visor glinted in the light. "I would recommend being on high alert in case this thing is hostile."

At that, Red had his beam rifle charged. Flight gripped his rifle tightly Red thought the grip would be dented. Rouge flexed her fists in anticipation. Striker meanwhile remained calm, analyzing things, trying to decide what weapon would be best used in this situation. It was then that a Jeep escorted by a certain tank-like Gundam.

Flight squeaked and ducked behind Red. He hated to admit it, but he was intimidated by GunPanzer. Rouge on the other hand saluted crisply and Striker stood at attention alongside Red.

"Hey kids! Took ya long enough!" GunPanzer teased in his aged accented voice.

"We got here as fast as we could, sir," Rouge responded.

Flight slowly peeked out and nodded. Red shrugged off Flight from his backpack and looked up at the old Gundam with an amused glint. "Hey, we can still outfly you any day and anywhere with these flight units of ours."

GunPanzer laughed at that. "That may be, but I can still whup your afts any day!" he joked, slapping Red on the back with a massive servo. Red grunted as he stumbled forward from GunPanzer's strength. The red mech straightened up and rolled his shoulders a bit.

It was then that the jeep doors opened. The four Gundams scrambled into a line as Kao Lyn and Bell Wood emerged. Bell Wood, now a young man just laughed. "Ease up guys, it's just us!"

"Sorry," Flight muttered shyly. "Just a habit..." He nervously looked to GunPanzer as he said this. GunPanzer just shook his helmeted head as he glanced to the side.

"It's a good thing you showed up," Kao Lyn said as he did a few punches. "That strange object is emitting some kind of unknown energy." He did a backflip before continuing. "It's also giving off energy that is eerily similar to a Soul Drive."

"Soul Drive, like Captain Gundam?" Flight spoke up.

The engineer nodded. "Yes. That's exactly right, Flight!" he remarked. "So, this object requires further study."

"Hopefully it's nothing," Red said nonchalantly, though Rouge seemed rather miffed.

Rouge glanced to the smoke column. "So, who's gonna go get it?" she asked.

Kao Lyn shook his head. "We can't just go so suddenly!" he exclaimed. "We have to approach with caution."

GunPanzer nodded. "He's right, kids. To go in without an idea of what you are up against will lead to defeat," he lectured.

"Ugh..." Rouge said, deflated that she might not get to fight today. "We'll escort you both, and make sure that there's no threat," Red affirmed to Bell Wood and Kao Lyn, "that's what Captain and Chief sent us out here for."

The two men nodded. "Let's go then," Bell Wood remarked as they got into the Jeep.

"On me, Seedies," GunPanzer ordered as he transformed into tank mode, "let's see what's cooking there." Three Gundams got onto GunPanzer's chassis, while Flight elected to fly.

"I think I'll be air support," Flight said, preferring to be in the air at the first sign of trouble.

"Fine by me," GunPanzer said. "It's better to have a set of eyes in the sky."

The Gundams and the two human brainiacs drove up to the impact crater. As they did, there was an ambient blue glow emanating from the smoke.

"That had better not be radiation..." Red muttered.

Flight decided to risk it and flew in closer, scanning it with his sensors. He activated his Geiger counter... but nothing showed up on it. He looked down to the group. "Negative readings on the Geiger counter," he called, “site's clean."

The group finally approached the crater. But just because there wasn't any radiation didn't mean they could let their guard down. "Can you see anything in there?" Bell called up to Flight.

The winged Gundam drifted down closer, his eyes narrowed against the light. "It's... Yes, I can!" he replied. "But it's kinda hard to make out clearly."

"What is it, kid?" GunPanzer radioed.

"It's some kind of..." Flight flew down closer, and now he could see it. "Got a visual!" Flight replied. "Beaming it back now."

The image appeared on the HUDs of GunPanzer and the other Gundams. "What in tarnation is that thing?" GunPanzer asked.

The device shown resembled a Soul Drive to a degree, but it was larger,

and its internals glowed a bright blue, almost like a crystalline orb. Silver grips extended off to the side and a bright golden core surrounded it, acting like a protective barrier of sorts.

"What is that?" Red stared at the image on his HUD in wonder.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that thing is what struck the planet," Striker muttered.

"Well, duh," Rouge rolled her optics at her state-the-obvious twin brother.

Flight hovered down into the crater. "I'll retrieve it." His wing stabilizers adjusted as he lowered himself into position. He slowly reached down to pick up the mysterious object. As he touched the grip, he felt a tingle through his systems and frame.

"Whoa... That was weird," he muttered as he pulled one of the grips. The object was, despite its size, easy enough for him to lift. While still heavy compared to the weight a human could lift, it was close to light as a feather for him. Flight emerged from the smoldering crater towards his waiting comrades and the two engineers. "Got it!" he declared, holding the object up.

"Whoa," Bell Wood gasped in marvel at the object.

"Looks like that Matrix of Leadership thing I saw in that Transformers movie," Rouge muttered in awe.

"Set that thing down, Flight," Red prompted cautiously.

The winged Gundam nodded and slowly began to descend, the object held tightly in his servos. Once he was on the ground, he gently knelt and laid the object down on the ground in front of them before backing away.

"What is that," GunPanzer said guardedly.

"I have no idea," Striker muttered, inching closer a bit, but wary. However, as the device pulsed, the Gundams felt a simmering sensation of power emanating from it. Strangely enough, the soft pulsing device even sent shivers through Wood and Lyn, human as they were.

Kao Lyn's analyzers beeped as he jumped around it, his lenses spinning as he focused on his work. "Hmmm... Interesting!"

"Care to enlighten us," Red asked with a quirked optic.

"This thing is impressive in its power output!" Kao Lyn remarked. "But I'm also detecting that it's more than just that! As to what, exactly, I will have to examine it in more depth back at the research base!"

Bell Wood then turned to a squad of Assistant GMs and SWAT Jegans. "All right. Let's get this thing loaded up and back to the base!" he ordered.

"Roger Dr. Wood." The Assistant GMs then approached with a steel crate and clamps.

** Neotopia Military Institute Campus **

"Aw, man! Just a few more days!" Shute exclaimed as he danced out of class for the day. Excitement was filling the air as students and faculty chatted about the upcoming events. Now a twenty-year-old approaching twenty-one, Shute was set to graduate just shortly before his birthday. Finals were just around the corner. The young man had also added a bit of muscle from his time at the institute.

Now, Shute was curious as to what kind of events were to be held at the anniversary. The young cadet still could not believe that it had been ten years.

"Man... ten years since the defeat of the Dark Axis..." Shute cast his gaze up at the sky, reminiscing on some of the adventures back then. "Heh. Hard to believe..." He then walked over to a tree, where a certain bakery owner was waiting for him with a bright smile.

"Oh, hello, Shute!" Sayla Mass chirped.

"Hey baby," Shute beamed as he leaned over and kissed Sayla.

Sayla moaned lightly in happiness. She returned his kiss and pulled back. "How's my favorite cadet doing?" she purred.

"Just enjoying my calm before the storm," Shute chuckled back.

The two laughed a bit. "So, what's planned for the festivities?" Sayla inquired as she proceeded to bring out a cake for the two of them to share.

Shute rubbed the back of his head a bit in thought. "Well, there are going to be a few meet-and-greets with Bakunetsumaru, Zero, GunEagle and Captain. Then there will be a few moments to remember the losses we suffered during the fights, and then we'll have the new guys come in." He smiled at her. "I think you'll like a few of them."

"Oh?" Sayla's purple eyes lit up in wonder, "there are more Gundams now?"

"Yep." Shute nodded and pulled out a photograph of them all gathered in front of Kao Lyn's lab. Sayla looked at the photograph. One of the new Gundams was a bulky type, clad in heavy armor, but the way the optics were glimmering with mischievousness and a sort of girlish charm indicated that this one was a female. She apparently was made for heavy hitting, but something told Sayla that there was more to her than met the eye.

Then there was another with similar armor, but big shoulder cannons. This one was clearly a mech in build. The female seemed to have to use thicker armor to increase her chances of survival.

"These two are Mudrock and Alex," Shute said, pointing to them. "Alex is equipped with a special type of armor that can be detached to increase her agility. And Mudrock is the one with the cannons. He's a gung-ho type, but he's a good mech at heart."

"The one with the wings is Flight. He's a good fighter, but he does not like killing," Shute continued. "The pink and red femme is Strike Rouge, but everyone calls her the Pink Menace because she's a tomboy through and through."

Sayla giggled at that.

Shute returned the smile as he pointed to the remaining Gundams. "These two are Dash and Brave. Brave's the gunner, but he's got a real tendency to brawl when he's without his weapons. Dash is,surprisingly, the worst at accuracy, so he is more close quarters. But boy does he have a mouth on him! That red one is Red Saber, so he's the closest to a vet the new guys have. And then that's Alpha Zeta. He's a real veteran. And that one right there, the gold one, is Delta Shiki. He's a real nice mech, but firm with his subordinates when things need to be done."

Sayla then spotted what seemed to be a Gundam showing off some sort of massive flying contraption in the back.

"That one back there is Denbrobium. He's a flier like GunEagle, except he's way more of a flirt than Guneagle ever was," Shute remarked, tapping his image. "The reason is he's just as fast on ground as he is in the air."

Shute then pointed to a white and blue Gundam who was looking at the camera shyly. "And this one is Madnug. He helps Kao Lyn out quite frequently with his experiments, so he could be considered the medic of the group. But he's very shy."

Shute smiled at Madnug in particular, thinking of how Captain Gundam saved this particular version of him from a terrible fate...

**_ Flashback _ **

_Captain Gundam and Shute watched in horror as a meteorite struck the hyperspace ring that Madnug's ship was about to pass through._

_"We have to terminate the experiment!" Shute cried._

_Captain Gundam's bad memories of Professor Gerbera played in his processor as he pressed the abort button. However, the system failed to respond as the alarms went wild. "There's no time!" Captain realized. "Shute, I'm going out!" He was on his feet in a flash and bolting for the airlock of the Gundam Musai._

_"Captain!" Shute cried out as the Captain barreled past Alpha Zeta and Delta Shiki._

_"Shute, stay here!" Captain ordered. "We cannot allow Madnug to be lost!" Captain hurried down to the hangar and launched himself straight towards where the spaceship would pass. He had to get here before it reached that ring._

_It was then that his proximity warning buzzed on both sides. Captain glanced sideways to see Alpha Zeta and Delta Shiki racing alongside him. "Alpha, Delta, what are you doing?"_

_"Hey, you can't handle this alone," Delta remarked. "If what you said was true, then if this happens, then the whole thing will happen again. A time loop if you will. You want to break it, you'll need support."_

_"We're with you, Captain," Alpha Zeta said, ever dutiful and responsible for his relatively short activation, "leave no Gundam behind!"_

_Captain nodded. "Right!"_

_The three Gundams gunned their thrusters, hoping to keep their speed up from the launch._

_The three put as much power as they could into their thrusters. Already they were getting close to Madnug's trajectory. The trio drew closer to the ship, which was accelerating rapidly. Captain Gundam reached for the emergency escape hatch, while Alpha and Delta proceeded to grab the hull and pull back with their thrusters as much as they could._

_Inside, Madnug was already confused by the warning alarms going off when he felt more vibrations. "What?" He looked around, concern flooding his soft blue eyes._

_Captain Gundam managed to grab the escape hatch handles._

_Delta was next, driving his feet against the hatch as Alpha gripped on to a seam. "Full reverse!" Alpha yelled as he and Delta gunned their thrusters to try and decelerate the ship._

_Captain felt the ship jerk and he gripped the handles tighter. Sure that his comrades were holding on tight, he proceeded to try and pry open the hatch. He clutched the manual override handle. "Hang on, Madnug!" he cried, giving the handle a twist._

_The veteran Gundam pushed the hatch open and yelled inside. "Get out, Madnug!" The younger mech scrambled from his console just as it sparked. "AH!" He bolted for the escape hatch and slithered past Captain swiftly, which was impressive given his flight array._

_Seeing that Madnug was clear, Captain and his flighty companions jumped from the ship. Alpha was the first to grab the scared white Gundam, who was shaking like a leaf in his armor. Delta and Captain jetted back as the now unmanned ship entered the ring that was hit. Then, the distortion hit. The shockwave blew all four Gundams about like leaves in a wind._

_Captain Gundam felt himself spin, but then felt a hard impact that he guessed was the side of the Gundamusai. He looked back and saw with relief in his Soul Drive that all of his comrades were safe, including Madnug. The white Gundam was still shaking like a leaf as he clung to the side of the ship with wide blue optics. At that moment, it felt like a major burden had been lifted from the Captain's shoulders. He shook a bit from the realization. They had done it... They had saved Madnug!_

_Alpha Zeta looked to Captain, and was surprised to see him to laid back... and peaceful. He could guess why, but let Captain have his moment. He looked to the shaking Gundam holding onto the Gundam Musai. "Hey, it's okay," Alpha said soothingly._

_Madnug was too shaken to say anything, realizing how his own stubborness and recklessness nearly did him in..._

** Present **

"Needless to say, after that particular experiment, he learned a lot about temperance and humbleness," Shute related.

Sayla gave a contented smile, remembering how Shute privately told her about Madnug's alternate evil self, and how different this Madnug was. "I'm just glad he's safe," she said.

Shute then smiled as he looked at himself with Captain Gundam in front. He was just thirteen at the time.

"It all feels like yesterday," Sayla wistfully said.

"Yeah." Shute finally put the picture away. Sayla then leaned sideways and rubbed her head on Shute's shoulder. The young man returned it by embracing her.

"So, Shute, what else can you tell me about the new Gundams?" she asked.

The young man pursed his lips as he tried to think. "Well, for whatever reason," Shute began, "Red and his generation are referred to as Seed Gundams. Kao Lyn termed them as such, but he didn't tell me why." Shute then chuckled a bit. "Although I will be honest it is funny hearing GunPanzer refer to them as Seedlings. Especially Dash."

Sayla giggled at how ridiculously cute it sounded.

Shute grinned. "Actually, Dash takes the worst to the nickname. Brave and the others don't mind it, but Flight finds it embarrassing."

Sayla then settled down and gave Shute a very sweet look. "How much?" she asked.

Shute grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a new photograph. This one showed Flight staring at GunPanzer with wide optics, his faceplate a beet red, trying to hide his face in his hands. "Oh Flight just looks cute here," Sayla cooed.

"He is," Shute agreed as he put the picture down. "Although when I asked about the nickname, he blushed as red as Baku's armor."

"And Captain?" Sayla asked, "how is Captain Gundam?"

Shute smiled fondly. "He's doing well. He's in command of the Gundam Force still, although he admits training the new Gundams is a bit of a hassle sometimes."

Sayla smiled. "Maybe Chief Haro should promote Captain. General Gundam has a nice ring to it."

Shute cracked up. "Hardly! Could you really see him as being a general? He actually admitted to me he prefers leading the Gundam Force."

"Not surprised," the bakery girl hummed pleasantly. "And you," Sayla looked into Shute's eyes, "what are your plans?"

"Well, for the festivities?" Shute asked. He pursed his lips as he thought.

"No, silly," Sayla laughed, "I meant after you graduate." She then gave a soulful look, "but I don't mind both."

"Well, for graduation, it's simple. Try out for the SDG and see if I can get in." Shute's plans were honest, but what he wasn't saying was that he had been already slated to become the next chief.

"You're going to become a full member?" Sayla's eyes shined upon hearing that.

Shute nodded. "Yep."

Sayla gave him a peck on the cheek. "About time," she purred with a wink.

"You know... with your birthday coming up, perhaps we could celebrate both~?" Sayla offered with a slight giggle. That brought a wide grin to the boy genius turned cadet.

"That would be awesome!" Shute beamed, "Sayla, you're the best."

"And you are mine, cupcake," she teased. The two continued to revel in one another as they ate their sweet cakes.

** Meanwhile… **

"All right!" Uni was excited as he darted into the store. "About time my guitar was finished being tuned!" The white plated mecha was practically quivering in excitement and Ray chuckled.

For many people and robots in the store, it was a rather unusual sight. Even for the most advanced of AIs, it was rare for them to express interest in such hobbies, especially of the creative variety. However, Uni did not care if he was that exception. He loved the guitar and was quite good at it. Ray had heard him play a few times and felt the mecha had a real touch for music.

The store owner came out with a silver and white electric guitar. "Well, here you go, Uni," he said, handing it to the white mecha.

"Thank you, my man," Uni beamed as he took the titanium-reinforced instrument back. He looked it over before he gave the strings a few plucks. The sound resonated nicely. "Perfect," Uni cheered as he packed the guitar away.

Ray grinned. "Nice sound," he remarked.

"Just wait until the festival," Uni laughed, "I can't wait for my first solo!"

Ray laughed as well. "I'm already excited to hear it!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, boys. Uni? That'll be eighty bucks," the store owner did some quick math on his cash register.

"No problem." Uni reached into a small compartment on his side skirt armor and pulled out a small folding wallet. He plucked out the money and handed it off.

The store owner smiled and accepted. "Go give them a good show!"

The GM-like mecha nodded as he scooped up the guitar case and the two exited the store. Ray grinned at his friend. "Hey, wanna hit the food court? They've got some new flavors at the ice cream shop I heard."

Uni nodded. "Knock yourself out."

The two made their way to the food court. While robots did not need to eat, that didn't stop them from hanging out there with their human friends and counterparts. Ray hurried off to get ice cream while Uni scouted out a table for the two of them. Ray then returned, beaming about his choice of ice cream.

"Nice!" he remarked. "The berry burst! I've always wanted to try it!"

Uni chuckled. "Sure wish I could." Still, Uni found amusement and happiness in seeing his ice cream-loving friend being excited.

"So, how's she doing?" Uni asked, getting a sly glint in his optics, referring to Ray's closest female friend.

Ray froze up. "Fine," he tried to answer casually, "why?"

However, the white GM-like mecha spotted the blush on his cheeks. "She still flirting?" he teased.

"Flirting?" Ray was flustered as he laughed nervously. "You're dreaming... w-why would she be flirting?"

Uni nudged his friend. "Last time I saw her with you she was trying to get your attention~!" he sang.

Now Ray was really blushing. He had to admit though Uni was right. She _had_ been flirting. Haley Chan wasn't just a sweet woman. She was also very pretty, with soft blue hair and lovely green eyes... But she was also dedicated to her work in helping mobile citizens. That was why he had fallen for her. She was such a caring person.

"Yeah, but she's quite a caliber above me," Ray said in modesty.

Uni chuckled. "As if. I've seen the way you look at her~!" he teased again, earning another blush from Ray. "Uni!"

The GM-like mecha cracked up. "Hey, relax! I was just teasing." Uni and Ray just sat together as the latter munched up his ice cream to bury his embarrassment. As they sat there, Uni cast his gaze around the food court, his visor picking out several people coming their way.

Uni's optics widened under his visor. "No... way...!" he rasped, starting to shake a bit in excitement.

"Wait," Ray shook his head, "is that?" There amongst the crowd, was none other than Captain Gundam himself. His white, blue, and red armor gleamed in the sun, and beside him stood his best friend, Shute, and his girlfriend, Sayla.

Uni had to clench his hands to prevent himself from shaking even more. He was a huge fan of the Gundam Force. And he had a lot of stuff to show it. Uni felt like he was on autopilot as he rose from his seat and slowly walked over to the Captain.

The Gundam Force leader heard his footsteps and turned. Uni squeaked as those blue eyes landed on him. Captain gave a nudge to Shute who also directed his attention to the white mecha. Shute saw the GM-like robot with bright white colors and a singular horn.

"Oh!" He smiled. "Hey there. What's your name?"

"Oh... I-I'm Uni," the white mecha raised his hand, startled.

"Hey, no need to be startled," Sayla said with a reassuring smile as her gaze landed on him. "It's okay."

Shute nodded. "It can be a bit overwhelming to meet one's heroes," he joked. "And nice to meet you, Uni." He held out a hand for him to shake.

"Nice to meet you too," Uni said as he slowly held out his hand, mindful of his strength.

The two shook and Shute grinned. "Wow. Quite a grip you got. Even for a GM."

Uni thought to himself about how this was already one of his softer touches. He then turned to Captain Gundam. The leader smiled as he held out his own hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you," he said.

"And golly, it's an honor!" Uni had more courage to speak up as he slapped his palm into Captain's. The two mecha shook their hands and Ray smiled. "Heh. Looks like you finally got to meet your idol," he teased.

Captain Gundam then took note of Uni's strength. His own strength was already great, but somehow, he felt Uni squeeze rather hard on his hand. "That is quite some strength. What model GM are you?" he asked.

Shute and Sayla looked to Captain with surprise. Shute then glanced back and saw that Uni was indeed an unusual robot. "Huh..." Shute looked Uni up and down, trying to figure that out.

Uni shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know."

"Well, whatever model you are, your strength is impressive," Captain admitted. Then he grew thoughtful. "I am wondering if you would be open to an offer sometime in the near future. We are hoping to recruit more members to the SDG at some point."

Uni actually squeaked at that. "Y-You are?!" he practically shouted.

Ray smirked. "Who knows? Perhaps you'll be one of them," he joked, nudging his friend.

Captain Gundam processed the exchange between the two friends, while Shute seemed amused at Uni's response.

Shute chuckled. "Yeah. But we're going to wait a bit until the festivities have ended. We got a lot to prepare for," he explained.

Uni on the other hand, flushed beet red as he looked down. "Oh... Well, if you're recruiting, I'd be open to it!" he chirped, beaming brightly.

"Only if I can come too," Ray added. "I'm pretty good at mechanics."

Captain Gundam then asked Uni. "What do you do?"

"Uh... I'm a mechanic as well," Uni admitted. "But I... kind of have a tendency to well... break things... when I get excited or something..." He pressed two fingers together.

Captain hummed thoughtfully as he processed this. Uni's strength was an asset, so he could perhaps be useful in terms of heavy lifting... like for repairing Gunperries. Those needed maintenance quite often, and the parts they used were quite heavy.

  
"Well," Shute began, "I suppose more muscle and mechanics wouldn't hurt. We've been fielding larger aircraft and warships as of late."

Captain nodded in agreement. "I agree. We shall keep these two on record," he said, "for future recruitment efforts." Ray and Uni both gaped in shock.

"You're joking," Ray expressed.

"Please pinch me," Uni trailed off.

"It is for possibility," Shute told them. "So, we may not. But who knows?" He grinned. "Anyway, nice meeting you." Sayla giggled and winked at the unusual human-mecha duo aside from her lovable Shute and companion Captain.

The trio left the two standing there in shock. Then, Uni turned to his friend. "Ray... we were just scouted out!" he gasped excitedly.

"I know, right," Ray cheered, "so cool!"

Uni chuckled. "C'mon! I wanna see if there's anyone else about!"

He then took Ray by the arm and dragged him along. The two wandered the area a bit more before Uni's optics landed on Stamen. His huge aerial unit soared overhead and he grew a bit giddy. "Oh man! That's Stamen!" he chirped. The Gundam came in for a landing and touched down, disengaging from his unit. "Hey, everyone!" he cheered.

  
"It's the Gundam Force," a little boy pointed towards Stamen excitedly.

"Another Gundam, yay!" A little girl had a similar reaction.

The mech gave a wink as he retracted his faceplate to expose his own face, which was rather handsome. "Glad to be here!" he remarked, giving a thumbs up. Uni would have grinned if he had a moving mouth.

"Awesome!" he breathed.

Stamen for his part glanced over and winked to the white plated mech before he turned back to the crowd. Ray chuckled. "Guess he's a younger Gundam," he remarked. Uni gave a wishful glance. 'How I wish I were a Gundam, sometimes,' he thought...

** Gundam Force Nevada Base **

The lab was a madhouse as technicians, both human and mechanical, scurried about, analyzing the strange object that the Gundam Force had brought in. Kao Lyn, aged as he was, was his usual hysterical and excitable self, while Bell Wood worked the scans and his own crew of techs.

The Gundam engineer's eyes glinted beneath his glasses as he studied the output of the device. "Very fascinating!" he remarked. "It's a lot more like a computer than we expected!"

"Yeah," Bell Wood whistled, "and boy, the cybersecurity is above top-notch. I've tried all my code scramblers and failed!" It was not every day that Bell Wood would admit something like that.

The old engineer flipped once before launching into a series of martial arts moves. "I've never run into anything like this before, either! But there is always a way to get past things!"

Bell Wood smiled at his old mentor. "You're right," he said. He then rubbed his chin as he contemplated solutions to this challenge of opening the alien device. His lightbulb then lit up as he came up with an idea. "I think I have an idea..." Bell Wood mused, a grin crossing his face. The young, but grown-up genius contacted the Blanc Base II.

The screen showed operator Juri to be answering the call from the base’s command center. “Dr. Wood, we’re receiving your transmission,” she confirmed, “what is it?”

"HQ," Bell Wood called, "can you link RAIMI via wireless to our Nevada Base AI?"

“May I ask why?” Juri questioned.

"I've got one heck of a computer firewall to crack," Bell Wood told her, "I could use some extra juice right now."

"Very well." Juli nodded. "I'll patch her through." Bell Wood watched as the Gundamusai's AI made contact.

“Hello Dr. Wood,” RAIMI’s voice came in loud and clear, “you requested my assistance?”

"Yes," the Gundam Force engineer genius said as he brought up the limited data he had on the mysterious object in question.

RAIMI's voice hummed over the speakers. "I can see about providing some assistance, but that firewall looks very advanced. Even if I boost the AI, I cannot be sure of the success of breaching that firewall."

"Well, it's worth a try," Bell Wood shrugged with a smirk.

"Then let us commence." RAIMI proceeded to connect to the research base's AI. “Initiating connection.”

"We'll need additional power, to handle the load," Bell Wood indicated. He looked to Kao Lyn.

Kao Lyn nodded. "I'm already on it!" he chirped. He radioed one of the tech teams. "You guys ready on your end?" he asked.

"Affirmative," a tech responded, "generator trucks are online."

"Get ready then!" Kao Lyn said.

Bell Wood decided to inform Red and his team. He switched frequencies to the Gundams' comms. "You guys better get ready," he said. "We're about to try again with breaking down that firewall!"

  
"Alright, Doctor. Be careful in there, and good luck," Red replied.

The man nodded. "I intend to!" The veteran engineer cracked his fingers in excitement. He proceeded to type in the commands. "Initiate scrambling." The program went to work, bolstered by RAIMI's assistance. "Alright everyone, clear the chamber," Wood directed, "here we go!"

The mecha and humans scurried out of the way as the cables snaking around and into ports on the strange object began to hum with power. Bell Wood's eyes narrowed as he flipped down his distinctive goggles, switching them to the shaded setting.

Kao Lyn had his kooky looking, yet highly advanced glasses switch to shaded mode as well. "It's showtime!" Kao Lyn gestured excitedly.

Bell Wood nodded as he went to work. "Starting hacking process..."

"Initiating connection, target locked," RAIMI and the base's AI announced in synchro as the base's systems powered up. The screen showing the device's firewall began to glow as both AIs went to work. The device itself then began to glow a light blue in response. Bell Wood studied the readouts intently, scanning to see if the combined power of the AIs was sufficient."How are we doing, RAIMI?"

"Hacking in progress," RAIMI stated, “however, there is heavy resistance from the security system of the device.”

"Okay, RAIMI," Bell Wood was encouraged, "keep at it, slow and steady."

"Affirmative." The Gundamusai's AI continued to work, slowly pushing through the defenses.

Kao Lyn monitored the energy readings from the device. His glasses spun a bit as he analyzed them. "Oooh boy... this is interesting..." he mused, “"it appears that this device is capable of generating some kind of energy..." Kao Lyn remarked. "But that's not all. I'm picking up some life signals inside...!"

"Life signals?" Bell Wood was befuddled.

"It's hard to explain, but I have a feeling there's more to this than meets the eye," Kao Lyn stated seriously. That was out of character for Kao Lyn to be that serious sounding. It was then that an alarm sounded.

"Sir, we got trouble!" one of the techs shouted. "The device...!" The device began to glow brighter as energy reading surged.

"Warning, high-level energy surge detected," RAIMI sounded, "system overload in progress."

"Shut it down!" Kao Lyn shouted.

"RAIMI, disconnect all servers!" Bell Wood exclaimed.

The AI complied. "Servers disconnecting." However, after a few seconds a shocking reply came back. "Disconnect failed."

"What?!" Now Bell Wood was worried. "What the heck is going on here?!" Then, everything went crazy. The computers suddenly started back up as data surged through them.

"The device is reacting!" a technician exclaimed. "It's hacking into our files!"

"A self-defense mechanism?" Bell Wood wondered as he began sweating.

"Cut the hardlines now!" Kao Lyn became hysterical, "cut them now!"

The crew went into a frenzy of activity as people started to work on terminating the hardline connections. A few manually disconnected the wires from the servers, and some even went one step further, trying to cut the lines. However, that did not seem to stop the device, as the computers continued to display data and images.

“It's not working!" Bell Wood yelled.

Kao Lyn then looked at one of the screens. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Interesting..." he mused, taking in the information. "It's like a repository of sorts..." But there was also the surge that still emanated from the device. It was more like it was... searching for something... But what? However, before he could make further inquiries...

The facility suddenly went dark as the lights shut off. "Yikes!" Kao Lyn was startled.

"The heck?!" Bell Wood looked around. "What happened?!"

** Outside... **

"Ugh," Red groaned as his HUD glitched from the surge of energy. Then, without warning, the lights went out.

Flight yelped as he felt the tingling in his systems, only to squeak as the lights plunged into darkness. "Uh... guys? Was this supposed to happen?" he squeaked.

"What the heck," Rouge jumped in surprise.

Silver jolted and bumped into GunPanzer, who had not even flinched from the surge of power. He rubbed his faceplate with one hand as he squinted one eye shut. He then noticed generator trucks and other electronics sparking and giving out. "Oh great," Striker shouted, "now we've lost power!"

GunPanzer clenched his fists. "What in tarnation did this?" he wondered.

Red had no answer, but he had a bad feeling in his processor. "I'm not liking this," he muttered.

Rouge's eyes hardened. "Why do I get the same feeling?" she whispered.

The Gundams felt dread in their processors as the base fell into darkness and disarray. None of them knew what was to come…

**_Chapter 2 End_ **


End file.
